1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to golf clubs, and more particularly to golf putters having heads which utilize inserts to provide the desired putting characteristics for the putter. Specifically, the invention relates to a putter head with a clear plastic insert on the face thereof, which may have a advertising indicia behind the insert.
2. Background Information
Golf is a sport which has provided a challenge for people for years due to the unique combination of finesse and strength required to play the game well. To stay at the top of one""s game, professional golfers play many rounds of golf per week. However, most golfers play golf only for fun such as on weekends and their golf game suffers due to the relatively infrequent play. Consequently, such weekend golfers have sought improved golf clubs and golf balls which are more forgiving of errors in their golf swing.
A variety of golf clubs have been devised over the years in an attempt to make the clubs more forgiving of errors during their golf swing and in general during play. One area of focus has been on golf putters since a high percentage of the strokes in a round of golf occur after the golf ball has been hit onto the green (i.e. during putting). A variety of different style golf putters have thus been developed to aid the golfer during putting such as various lines on the golf ball striking surface and the top of the putter head to help the golfer align the golf ball striking surface with the hole in the green. Also, putters have been designed which are more forgiving to improper putting strokes, having a larger so called xe2x80x9csweet spotxe2x80x9d, wherein the putter head contacts the golf ball without significant twisting which causes the golf ball to travel off course. This typically involves the placement and distribution of the mass of the putter head behind the golf ball striking surface thereof.
The range of golf putter designs is limited only by the imagination of the putter designer. Attempts include a variety of shapes for the body of the putter head, various alignment lines on the body, various angles for the golf ball striking surface, and various materials or inserts incorporated into the golf ball striking surface to alter the rebound characteristics of the golf ball when contacted during putting. While some of these putter designs have made improvements in the forgiveness of the putter and enlarged the sweet spot, they still lack a truly large sweet spot. Furthermore, golf putters lack any effective form of advertising to promote the golf club, or for other paid advertisers to promote their product or service, except in the form of advertising indicia which is on an adhesive label applied to the club or which is cast into metal club heads during club head manufacture. Such labels do not give a professional look to the golf club, and the cast-in variety require more complex casting molds and shorter casting runs, increasing the cost to produce the golf clubs.
There is thus, a continuing need for golf clubs and in particular golf putters which overcomes the number of problems associated with the prior art.
One of the advantages of the present invention is that it provides a golf putter which is forgiving of imperfectly stroked putts by having an enlarged sweet spot.
A further advantage of the present invention is that it provides a method for advertising while the putter is used or otherwise displayed.
These and other advantages of the present invention may be realized by reference to the remaining portions of the specification, claims, and abstract.
The present invention relates to a putter head for a golf putter, a golf club for advertising, and a method of advertising using the golf club. The putter head is for a golf putter of the type having an elongate shaft with a hand grip connected to a gripping end thereof and a putter head attachment end. The putter head includes an elongate body having a heel adapted for attachment to the putter attachment end and a toe. A striking face extends along the body with a front recess formed in the striking face. The front recess has a bottom surface. The putter head further includes a plastic insert of mating configuration to the front recess which is disposed in the front recess. An outside surface of the plastic insert is substantially coplanar with the striking face forming a golf ball striking surface.
The golf club for advertising includes an elongate shaft having a gripping end and a club head attachment end, with a hand grip connected to the gripping end of the shaft. The golf club further includes a club head having a body with a heel adapted for attachment to the club head attachment end, and having a toe. A golf ball striking surface extends along the body with a front recess formed in the striking face having a bottom surface. A transparent plastic insert of mating configuration to the front recess is disposed in the front recess. An outside surface of the plastic insert is substantially coplanar with the striking face forming a golf ball striking surface. An advertising indicia is visible through the plastic insert.
The method of advertising comprises the steps of 1) providing a golf club of the type having an elongate shaft with a hand grip connected to a gripping end thereof and a club head attachment end, a club head which includes a body having a recess formed therein, a plastic insert of mating configuration to the recess disposed in the recess, and an advertising indicia which is visible through the plastic insert; and 2) displaying the advertising indicia to persons such as by using the golf club to play golf.
The above description sets forth, rather broadly, the more important features of the present invention so that the detailed description of the preferred embodiment that follows may be better understood and contributions of the present invention to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described below and will form the subject matter of claims. In this respect, before explaining at least one preferred embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of the construction and to the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or as illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.